"Jon McCormack presents: The Wheel of Awesome, featuring Tim McCoy, Rick Habib and Billy Butler" promises to be all that it claims; awesome and crazy fun with four friends, who just happen to be quite talented.

Jeanné McCartin

"Jon McCormack presents: The Wheel of Awesome, featuring Tim McCoy, Rick Habib and Billy Butler" promises to be all that it claims; awesome and crazy fun with four friends, who just happen to be quite talented.

"Awesome," (Its full title "a little clunky," admits McCormack. "But it does have that 'all star Vegas variety show' feel)," will be part jam session, trivia, part theater and game show; a variety show where a spin of the Wheel of Awesome will dictate the band's next move.

"I've always wanted to do a recurring musical thing, but I wasn't that interested in an open mic. Tim Theriault has had one on Tuesdays at Fury for years. He's incredible at what he does. There's no point in trying to do what he's doing," says McCormack. "So I wanted to do something a little different, fun and engaging for the audience and musicians — myself included."

McCormack has history with fun and engaging — think Bling Cherry and Camarojuana, two era bands, with period correct threads and personas; (in addition to Museum of Science, Fly Spinach Fly, Starch, Monster Makers, Swamp Yankee and Order of Thieves).

"I've always played original music in most of my bands. But those explored cover material and presenting it in a different way," says McCormack. "I've explored 'putting on a show' and creating a character. ...; We weren't just standing there playing songs people have heard before, but incorporating them into a show, something more visible people can get involved with."

McCormack has an affinity for the 1970s (think Bling Cherry), one that extends beyond the music, he says.

There were all those great television game shows such as the "$25,000 Pyramid," and "Match Game," ("with Charles Nelson Reilly! In many ways he's an inspiration for this").

After coming up with the basic for the "events," McCormack called a few friends he thought the perfect match for the project.

He and McCoy go "way back." The pair have been friends, co-band members and shared billing at shows for decades, says McCormack. He's worked with Butler for about a half-dozen years. He and Habib only started working music together recently, but have known each other for quite a while.

McCoy says he wasn't entertaining thoughts of any new projects when McCormack approached him. "I'm always strapped for time, there's too much going on. ...; But I listen when he calls," says McCoy. "So it had to be something really interesting to get me — and it is."

"I'm looking forward to it. It's something completely new and different," McCoy adds. "I think people will find it fun. It should be interesting for sure."

Once all were on board, they batted around ideas as a group.

"When we got together ...; we had way too many to handle and had to trim it back," says McCormack. "There could be endless possibilities."

As they continued to refine, McCormack booked the group a month's residency at Fury's in Dover.

"Here's the gist of it," says McCormack. "There is a physical wheel. We're making it. We'll spin the wheel ...; and we'll do what it says."

The 3-foot, brightly colored wheel features 14 categories. For example: The "Get Stoned," option will require a Rolling Stones song and "Freegan Jam" calls for an improv tune "made up on the spot," notes McCormack, with its key signature and subject selected by the audience. The "Local Heroes" slice stands for original music composed by Seacoast artists, while "Come Together" gets you a Beatles' tune, and "Who Are You," The Who.

"Between Jon, Tim and Billy, we put our catalogues together and it feels like we know bazillions of songs," says Habib.

There are categories that cover genres and others decades in addition to band specific stops, Habib adds. Expect some Jane's Addiction, Nirvana, Blind Melon and Alice in Chains. "Freedom Rock" will pull in 1960s and '70s tunes.

"There's 'Men in Mascara,' which covers everything from Little Richard to the Cure, '50s through the '90s," says Habib. "We're even working in some '80s metal."

Music rehearsals are going strong, says McCormack. "We're learning a lot of songs. You don't know what the wheel's going to hit. It could hit the same category five times in a row. ...; We need to be ready."

But it's not all about the music. "A Man Walks Into a Bar" orders up a joke, and "For Those About to Rock" calls for rock 'n' roll trivia.

"The over-arching gist of this is variety," says McCormack. "It's a variety show. That's what it is."

As with the music, the band is readying itself. "We can't be making them up off the cuff. We need to be prepared," says McCormack. "We need to know wherever the wheel lands we're ready do go."

Habib thinks he'll do fine in trivia. "I'm a music nerd. I can do it without a great deal of research."

All of them are prepping jokes — some hitting the Internet, books and the like.

In McCoy's case he'll start with his 8- and 10-year-old kids — they're a bit better at the humor thing than he is, he says. "I'm the worst joke-teller, besides my dad, that is," says McCoy. "I'll try some out, see if they're passable. But I'm definitely going to ask my kids."

Habib concedes it's not his forte either. "I've got to personally, really beef up on that," he says. "I think Jon and Billy are in charge of that. ...;I think."

Everyone is pulling something together for "Name that Riff," a stop that pays homage to "Name that Tune."

"Someone in the band will play the first 10 seconds of a famous song and people have to guess it," explains McCormack.

Butler is in charge of "Shots and a Beer." Each time the wheel ends on the category he'll encourage the audience to take a healthy swig, accompanied by a 30-second, Butler original, "good drinkin' music" says Habib.

The show's selection criterion was consistent regardless of the category, says McCormack; "fun, variety and interesting for us."

"I think people will be much more engaged if we're engaged. If we're having fun and are entertaining, people will respond. That's been my experience with all the bands. If we're feeling it, feeling the vibe and enjoying what we're doing, it comes across. I think everyone in this project would agree with that."

What they're going for is "a loose vibe," a sensibility similar to McCormack's favorite game shows — think back to Charles Nelson Reilly.

"You think 'what were they drinking back stage!'" he says laughing. "You could tell they knew each other and were goofing around.

"The show will have an element of — will this or will this not go off the rails. ...; And hopefully people will get into that, and the vibe, and have fun."

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